Metro Nashville Community Oversight Board (COB) Executive Director Jill Fitcheard makes more than $116,000 per year, according to public records, and that’s a generous pay increase over what she made as assistant executive director.
The Tennessee Star filed a public records request in July asking for information about what Fitcheard makes this fiscal year and what she made in Fiscal Year 2020. Those records show she made more than $42,000 as the COB’s assistant executive director. Those records reveal that she made $62,000 per year after her promotion to COB executive director. In 2021 Fitcheard, as executive director, makes a six-figure salary.
Fitcheard did not return two requests for comment this week.
Metro Nashville Director of Human Resources Shannon Hall provided information that somewhat contradicted those public records when The Star contacted her Tuesday.
“In June 2019, Jill Fitcheard was hired as the Community Oversight Board Assistant Director at a starting annual salary of $88,350. In July 2019, she received a 3 percent cost of living adjustment bringing her new salary to $91,000.50 as allowed in Metro’s pay plan. In December 2019, the Community Oversight Board promoted her to Executive Director and set her annual salary at $115,000,” Hall said via email.
“In July 2020, she received a 1 percent cost of living adjustment as afforded to Metro employees in the pay plan, bringing her annual salary to $116,150. In July 2021, she received a 2 percent cost of living adjustment as afforded to Metro employees in the pay plan and a 15 percent open range increase granted by the Community Oversight Board who determines her pay increases, which brings her to her current salary. Annual merit based increases for this Executive Director position are determined by the Community Oversight Board.”
Fitcheard, according to her biography on Metro Nashville’s website, began her career as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. She moved to Nashville in 1996 and obtained a degree from Tennessee State University with a degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in criminal justice. She minored in psychology.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Nashville City Hall” by Nicolas Henderson. CC BY 2.0.
